French club Bastia’s home matches will resemble Mets games at Citi Field for a while, with the Ligue 1 side’s supporters banned from Stade Armand Cesar, a scenario that’s pushed the club’s 73-year-old Sporting Director Jo Bonavita into a hunger strike. From the AFFP :
“I will continue my hunger strike until this ban is lifted,” he said. “The League and (president) Frederic Thiriez want to destroy Bastia and even if I am 73 years old and a lot of people have warned me of the risks I am running, I will carry on my hunger strike to support all those families whose livelihood depends on the club.”
“We get the impression that Bastia are a thorn in the side of Ligue 1,” said midfielder Jerome Rothen. “The club and the players will not allow themselves to be destroyed and we’ll be a thorn in their side for even longer,” he said.
“All they want is to kill the club off. When I played at Paris St Germain, every time we travelled to Marseille, the team bus was pelted with stones. Much more serious incidents than those at Furiani occurred during those matches and Marseille never had their stadium closed down.”